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CompTIA A+ 1101 (Core 1)_ > 3.3 Given a scenario, select & install storage devices > Flashcards

3.3 Given a scenario, select & install storage devices Flashcards

1
Q

What does it mean that storage devices are non-volatile?

A

It holds data even when the system is powered off

These devices, also called mass storage, use magnetic, optical, or solid-state tech for data storage.

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2
Q

3 widths storage devices are produced in?

A
  • 5.25”
  • 3.5”
  • 2.5”

Bays with a 5.25” width include removable panels for devices like DVD drives and smart card readers.

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3
Q

How is a fixed disk typically installed to a drive bay?

(storage device)

A

Using a caddy

(Drive is screwed into caddy, & the caddy is screwed into the drive bay)

A caddy enables fitting drives of different sizes into bays, like a 2.5” drive in a 3.5” bay or a 3.5” drive in a 5.25” bay, using an adapter. Some caddies feature rails for easy drive removal without case opening

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4
Q

How do external hard drives typically connect to a computer?

A

via USB or Thunderbolt

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5
Q

3 factors that impact the choice of mass storage devices?

A
  • Reliability
  • Performance
  • Use
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6
Q

Meaning of SSD?

A

Solid-State Drive

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7
Q

How does an SSD work?

A

Uses flash memory for persistent storage

Flash memory outperforms mechanical HDDs, especially in read performance, with lower risks of total failure from mechanical shock and wear. Costs per gigabyte have significantly decreased in recent years

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8
Q

When may an SSD perform worse than an HDD?

A

Long, large sequential writes

SSDs can experience reduced performance due to write amplification and wear-leveling mechanisms.

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9
Q

What are flash chips susceptible to?

This is in relation to SSDs

A

Degradation over many write operations

The drive firmware and OS employ wear-leveling routines to evenly distribute writes across all SSD blocks, optimizing device lifespan

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10
Q

2 SSD form factors?

A
  • M.2
  • mSATA
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11
Q

Identify SSD form factor

A

M.2

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12
Q

Identify SSD form factor

A

mSATA

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13
Q

3 SSD communication interfaces?

A
  • NVMe
  • SATA
  • PCIe
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14
Q

Meaning of NVMe?

A

Non-Volatile Memory Express

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15
Q

Meaning of PCIe?

A

Peripheral Component Interconnect Express

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16
Q

Main drawback to SATA/mSATA SSDs?

A

The 600MBps interface bottleneck

It’s a bottleneck for the best performing SSDs

The best performing SSDs can achieve transfer rates of up to 6.7 GB/s

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17
Q

What does the 2280 mean in 2280 M.2 SSD

A

The width & length of the M.2 adapter

(22mm wide & 80mm long, in this example)

M.2 adapters can be different widths & lengths

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18
Q

What is a HDD’s spinning disk’s speed measured in?

A

Revolutions Per Minute (RPM)

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19
Q

2 RPMs that high performance HDDs are rated at?

RPM = Revolutions Per Minute

A
  • 15,000
  • 10,000
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20
Q

2 RPMs that average performans HDDs are rated at?

RPM = Revolutions Per Minute

A
  • 7,200
  • 5,400
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21
Q

What is a HDD’s access/seek time?

A

Delay for the head to locate a track

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22
Q

What is the access/seek time of a high-performance HDD?

A

Under 3ms

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23
Q

What is the access/seek time of an average-performance HDD?

A

6ms

(Around 6ms)

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24
Q

What is a HDD’s internal transfer rate?

A

The speed of read/write operations on platters

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25
Q

What is the internal transfer rate of a 15K HDD?

(A 15,000 RPM HDD)

A

Up to 180 MBps

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26
Q

What is the internal transfer rate of a 7.2K HDD?

(A 7,200 RPM HDD)

A

Up to 110 MBps

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27
Q

What interface do most HDDs use?

A

SATA

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28
Q

What interfaces do legacy HDDs use?

A

PATA or SCSI

HDD with SCSI interface
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29
Q

2 HDD form factors?

A
  • 2.5”
  • 3.5”
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30
Q

What heights do 2.5” HDDs vary in?

A
  • 5mm
  • 7mm
  • 9.5mm
  • 15mm
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31
Q

Meaning of RAID?

A

Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks/Devices

32
Q

What is the tradeoff with using RAID?

A

Sacrifices disk capacity but provices fault tolerance

33
Q

How does a RAID array appear to an OS?

A

As a single storage resource/volume

It can be partitioned & formatted like any other drive

34
Q

What is a RAID level?

i.e. RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 (1+0), etc.

A

Drive configuration with specific fault tolerance

Basic RAID levels are numbered from 0-6. There are also nested RAID solutions, like RAID 10 (RAID 1 + RAID 0)

35
Q

3 ways RAID can be implemented?

A
  • Software RAID (OS features)
  • Hardware RAID (Adapter Card)
  • Integrated RAID (Integrated on the MOBO)

Hardware RAID options vary from basic support for RAID 0 or RAID 1 to more advanced levels like RAID 5 and RAID 10. They often enable hot-swapping of damaged disks without system shutdown.

36
Q

What characteristic should all disks in an RAID array share?

Failure to have the same characteristics may result in suboptimal performance, compatibility issues, and potentially data loss

A

Capacity, type, & performance

37
Q

What happens if there are different disk sizes in a RAID array?

A

The smallest disk limits usable space

38
Q

What is disk striping in RAID?

A

Dividing data into blocks across all drives

This improves performance as multiple disks are available to service requests in parallel

39
Q

How many disks does RAID 0 require?

A

At least 2

40
Q

What does RAID 0 do?

A

Stripes data across multiple drives without redundancy

RAID 0 only has specialist uses–typically as some type of non-critical cache store

41
Q

What does it mean that RAID 0 provides no redundancy?

A

If any disk fails, the whole logical volume will fail

This will cause the computer to crash & requires data to be recovered from backup

42
Q

What does RAID 1 do?

A

Mirrors data across multiple drives for redundancy

Each write operation is duplicated on the second disk on the set. If one disk fails, the other takes over.

43
Q

How many disks does RAID 1 require?

A

Atleast 2

44
Q

What is RAID 1’s disk utilization?

A

50%

i.e. if you have two 1TB drives in a RAID 1 configuration, the total usable capacity is 1TB because the second drive mirrors the data from the first drive, effectively halving the usable space

45
Q

What does RAID 5 do?

A

Stripes data & parity data

46
Q

What is parity data?

A

Calculated value for error detection & fault tolerance in RAID

It’s generated from the data stored on the array

47
Q

What is parity data used for?

A

Reconstructing data after a drive failure

48
Q

When is the read/write operation performance degraded in RAID 5?

A

When a disk fails

due to the need to recover the data using the parity data

49
Q

How many disks does RAID 5 require?

A

Atleast 3 disks

The controller or OS sets a maximum number of devices, but practical factors such as cost and risk often determine the actual number of drives used

50
Q

When does the whole logical volume fail in RAID 5?

Meaning, in what situation does the whole volume become unavailable

A

When more than one drive fails

This means that adding more disks increases the chance of failure

51
Q

How much data is reserved for parity in RAID 5?

A

A fraction of each disk’s capacity

The fraction is determined by the number of disks used in the array

i.e. if 3 disks are used, a third of each disk is set aside for parity. If 4 disks are used, a quarter is used for parity. i.e. in a 3 80GB disk configruation (240GB total), a third of each disk (26.4GB (a total of 80GB (3 * 26.4 = 80))) is used for parity, giving a usable volue of 160GB (240 - 80 = 160)

52
Q

What does RAID 10 (RAID 1 + RAID 0) do?

A

Mirrors data across striped drive pairs

53
Q

How does RAID 10 (RAID 1 + RAID 0) offer excellect fault tolerance?

A

One disk in each mirror can fail without losing data

54
Q

How many disks does RAID 10 (RAID 1 + RAID 0) require?

A

Atleast 4 disks, & an even number of disks

55
Q

What is RAID 10’s disk utilization?

A

50%

This means that half of the total disk capacity is utilized for redundancy (mirroring). i.e. if you had 4 1TB drives, the usable storage capacity is 2TB due to the mirroring configuration, resulting in 50% disk overhead

56
Q

Meaning of NAS?

A

Network Attached Storage

57
Q

What is a NAS device?

A

Drive enclosure that connects directly to the network

Rather than to a PC

Advanced enclosures can host multiple disk units configured as a RAID array

58
Q

What is the max capacity of original SD cards?

A

2GB

59
Q

What is the max capacity of SDHC cards?

A type of SD card

A

32GB

60
Q

What is the max capacity of SDXC cards?

A

2TB

61
Q

How do smaller SD cards fit into regular-size readers?

i.e. microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC

A

Using a caddy

62
Q

Meaning of CD?

A

Compact Disc

63
Q

Meaning of DVD?

A

Digital Versatile Discs

64
Q

Meaning of BD?

(optical drive)

A

Blu-ray Discs

65
Q

How is data on optical media read?

A

via laser

Optical discs are marketed as being hard-wearing, but scratches can render them unreadable

66
Q

Can optical disks be used as storage media for PC data?

A

Yes

67
Q

What does it mean if an optical drive is formatted as basic recordable media?

A

Can be written once only in a single session

68
Q

What does it mean if an optical drive is formatted as multisession recordable media?

A

Writable in multiple sessions, but data is not erasable

69
Q

What does it mean if an optical drive is formatted as rewritable media?

A

Writable & erasable over multiple sessions, with limited write cycles

70
Q

What formats are CDs available in?

A
  • Recordable (CD-R)
  • Rewritable (CD-RW)
71
Q

What is the capacity of DVDs?

A
  • 4.7GB (Single-layer, single-sided)
  • 17GB (Dual-layer, double-sided)
72
Q

What formats are modern DVD drives compatible with?

A
  • DVD+R/RW
  • DVD-R/RW

At launch, there were competing DVD+R/RW & DVD-R/RW recordable & rewritable formats, but most drives can use either, designated by the “±” symbol

73
Q

What is the capacity of Blue-ray discs?

A

25GB per layer

74
Q

How are internal optical drives installed?

A

Via 5.25” drive bay

75
Q

How are internal optical drives connected to the MOBO?

A

via SATA data & power connectors

76
Q

How are external optical drives connecting to the PC?

A

via USB

(or possible eSATA or Thunderbolt)

External optical drives usually come with their own AC adapter for power. They may feature either a tray-based or slot-loading mechanism

CompTIA A+ 1101 (Core 1)_ (28 decks)

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